Improved hay-elevator



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

F. A. CRANE, OF ZANESVILLE, OHIO.

lMPRovED HAY-ELEVATOR.

Speciication forming part of Letters Patent N0. 83.1170, dated October27, 1868.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, F. A. CRANE, of Zanesville, in the county ofMuskingum and State i of Ohio, have invented a new and ImprovedHay-Elevator; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilledin the art to make anduse the same, reference bein ghad to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specication, in which-Figure 1 is a side view of my improved elevator. Fig. 2 is acrosssection of the same through the line 0 6 w of Fig. 1.

Similar letters ofreference indicate likeparts.

The object of this invention is to facilitate the operation of liftinghay from the wagon and discharging it into the hay-mow of a barn. Itconsists of a plank or board, provided with lateral rails afIiXed oneach side of the lower v edge of the said plank, and on whicha hangingtruck and its accessory apparatus' travel to and fro. The hangingtruckis provided with pulleys and rollers and a catch-lever, the latterbeing so arranged with reference to the accessory parts of the apparatusthat the truck will be held stationary until the hay is lifted to theproper height, when the catch-lever will be lifted, and the truck, withits ,suspended load of hay, will be free to be drawn along the rails toa position over the hay-mow into which the hay is to be discharged fromthe fork.

In the drawings, A is a plank, provided with cords or chains B B B, &c.,by which it is attached to one of the rafters of a barn in such a:manner that the end A of the plank will project out through themow-hole or barn-window, so as to be over the hay-wagon outside thebuilding, without requiring any outer support. C are the side rails ofthe plank, on which the rollers G of the hanging truck D E E travel. Thesaid truck is composed of a short horizontal beam, D, affixed betweenthe lower ends of two pairs of metal plates, E E, the said platesbearing stud-pins f, projecting inwardly toward the plank, and whichafford the revolving centers or axles for the rollers G. The beam D hasa central mortise, within which a pulley revolves on a pin, g, as shown.

The cord or rope K passes throughthe pul-` ley-block N, and forwardbetween one pair of the plates E, thence over the pulley a a in the beamD, and down under the pulley L, and

thence `up to the beam again, to which the end is affixed by means of aknot and hole, as shown. While the hay is being raised the truck is 5held stationary by means of a catch-lever, H,

pivoted on a pin, d, passing through one pair of the plates E. The endof the lever pointing inward toward the barn catches against ashoulder-cleat, J. This end of the lever is always raised, it being onthe lightest arm The other end of the lever is formed with a shoulder,h, for a purpose to be shown.

The pulley in the beam D is composed of two plates, a a, each having oneor more shoulders, against which a shoulder, h, on the lever catches, sothat the load on the block L may not descend when, from the momentum ofthe load, as it is drawn laterally on the plank rails, it moves fasterthan the horse or other power acting on the rope K.

I is a stirrup-sh aped plate, pivoted at c', near the lower end of thecat-enlever, and inclosing the beam D within it, and passing between thetwo vertical parts of the rope K, so that when the load is lifted to itsgreatest height the block L will encounter the said plate I, and bearagainst it until the upper end of the catch-lever, to which it ispivoted, is pushed away from the shoulder-cleat J, thus 'leaving thetruck free to obey the horizontal traction of the rope K and travel backon the rails G to a position over the mow, wh ere the hay will bedischarged from the fork attached, in practice, to the block.

Shouldthe load, inbein g drawn alongtoward the mow, gather such momentumas to move faster than the draft-animal hitched to the rope, theshoulder h, which always rests on the pulley a a, will catch against theshoulder la formed on the flange-rim of the pulley, and prevent the saidpulley from turning `backward and lowering the fork and its load, asvbefore mentioned.

This pulley is of a peculiar construction, which adapts it moreperfectly to the present specified use and other analogous uses, andwhich construction I desire to claim especially. It consists of twometal plates, a a, generally circular, and drawn together against adisk, b, of vulcanized rubber, of less diameter, interposed betweenthem. These plates may be in practice drawn together by bolts orscrewthreaded bars on one plate fittin g in a hollow thread in theother, or in any other suitable manner.

The object of this form of pulley is to vary the width of the groove, toadapt it to the size of the rope used, so that the rope shall fit snuglyin the groove, and be prevented from slipping, when the pulley islocked, by the shoulder h of the catch-lever, in the case beforedescribed. The same rope will vary in size when wet and dry, or whenmuch worn, or enduring heavy strain, and it is desirable in this andother analogous situations that the rope should t the groove with justthe right degree of friction to enable it to operate to the bestadvantage.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. The combination of the plank A, havin g lashingsB, and siderails C, with the truck D E E, rollers G, catch-l ever H,havin g a shoulder, h, and stirrup-plate I, shoulder-cleat J, expanding-pulley a a, having shoulders 7c, with indiarubber block interposedbetween them, rope K, and pulley L, all constructed and operatingtogether substantially as shown and described.

2. The pulley constructed, as described, of the circular plates a a,having radial shoulders le, clamping between them the india-rubber diskb in such a manner that the width of the disk and the distance betweenthe plates are made adjustable, for the purpose specied.

F. A. CRANE.

Witnesses: y

G. ARTHUR, HoRATIo W. GHANDLEE.

